Method of manufacturing a semiconductor device having a stacked structure

ABSTRACT

A semiconductor device that includes a plurality of first conductive patterns stacked over a substrate, dummy patterns formed in the first conductive patterns, respectively, first barrier patterns each surrounding the respective first conductive patterns and partially interposed between the respective first conductive patterns and the respective dummy patterns, second barrier patterns each surrounding the respective first barrier patterns and the respective dummy patterns, a second conductive pattern located over or under the first conductive patterns, and a third barrier pattern surrounding the second conductive pattern, wherein the second conductive pattern has a greater thickness than the first conductive patterns.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a division of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/289,270 filed on May 28, 2014, which claims priority to Korean patentapplication number 10-2014-0000235, filed on Jan. 2, 2014. The entiredisclosure of each of the foregoing application is incorporated hereinin its entirety by reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of Invention

Various exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate generallyto an electronic device, and more particularly, to a semiconductordevice and a method of manufacturing the same.

2. Description of Related Art

A non-volatile memory device preserves stored data even when the poweris cut off. Two-dimensional memory devices in which memory cells arefabricated in a single layer over a silicon substrate have reachedphysical limits in increasing their degree of integration. Accordingly,three-dimensional (3D) non-volatile memory devices in which memory cellsare stacked in a vertical direction over a silicon substrate have beenproposed.

A 3D non-volatile memory device may include interlayer insulating layersand word lines stacked alternately and channel layers passingtherethrough, in which memory cells may be stacked along the channellayers. In addition, when 3D non-volatile memory device aremanufactured, the stacked word lines may be formed in such a manner thata plurality of oxide layers and a plurality of nitride layers may bealternately stacked, and the plurality of nitride layers may be replacedby a plurality of conductive layers.

However, it may be difficult to replace the plurality of nitride layerswith the plurality of conductive layers, and neighboring layers may bedamaged when the nitride layers are replaced by the conductive layers.Therefore, characteristics of the memory device may deteriorate.

SUMMARY

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention are directed to asemiconductor device that is easy to manufacture and has improvedcharacteristics over conventional semiconductor devices, and a methodfor manufacturing the same.

A semiconductor device according to an embodiment of the presentinvention may include a plurality of first conductive patterns stackedover a substrate, dummy patterns formed in the first conductivepatterns, respectively, first barrier patterns each surrounding therespective first conductive patterns and partially interposed betweenthe respective first conductive patterns and the respective dummypatterns, second barrier patterns each surrounding the respective firstbarrier patterns and the respective dummy patterns, a second conductivepattern located over or under the first conductive patterns, and a thirdbarrier pattern surrounding the second conductive pattern, wherein thesecond conductive pattern has a greater thickness than the firstconductive patterns.

A semiconductor device according to an embodiment of the presentinvention may include a memory cell having a first channel layer, adummy pattern surrounding a sidewall of the first channel layer, a firstconductive pattern surrounding the dummy pattern, a first barrierpattern surrounding the first conductive pattern and partiallyinterposed between the first conductive pattern and the dummy pattern, asecond barrier pattern surrounding the first barrier pattern and thedummy pattern, and a selection transistor located over or under thememory cell and including a second channel layer, a second conductivepattern surrounding a sidewall of the second channel layer, and a thirdbarrier pattern surrounding the second conductive pattern.

A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device according to anembodiment of the present invention may include forming a stackedstructure having first material layers, at least one second materiallayer located over or under the first material layers, and thirdmaterial layers interposed between the first and second material layers,forming a slit passing through the stacked structure, forming first andsecond openings by removing the first and second material layers throughthe slit, forming first sacrificial patterns in the first openings, andforming conductive layers in the first openings in which the firstsacrificial patterns are formed, and in the second opening, wherein thesecond material layer has a greater thickness than the first materiallayers.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a perspective view illustrating a semiconductor deviceaccording to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 1B is a perspective view illustrating an enlarged region A of FIG.1;

FIG. 1C is a cross-sectional view of a structure illustrating asemiconductor device according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIGS. 2A to 2H are cross-sectional views of a process flow forillustrating a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device accordingto an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of a memorysystem according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of a memorysystem according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of a computingsystem according to an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a computing system according toan embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various embodiments of the present disclosure will be described indetail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The presentinvention may, however, be embodied in different forms and should not beconstrued as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, theseembodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough andcomplete, and will fully convey the scope of the present invention tothose skilled in the art. In the drawings, thicknesses and length ofcomponents are exaggerated for convenience of illustration. In thefollowing description, a detailed explanation of known functions andconstitutions may be omitted to avoid unnecessarily obscuring thesubject manner of the present invention. Like reference numerals referto like elements throughout the specification and drawings.

Furthermore, ‘connected/coupled’ represents that one component isdirectly coupled to another component or indirectly coupled throughanother component. In this specification, a singular form may include aplural form, and vice versa, as long as it is not specificallymentioned. Furthermore, ‘include/comprise’ or ‘including/comprising’used in the specification represents that one or more components, steps,operations, and elements exist or are added.

It should be understood that the meaning of “on” and “over” in thepresent disclosure should be interpreted in the broadest manner so that“on” means not only “directly on” but also “on” something with anintermediate feature(s) or a layer(s) therebetween, and that “over”means not only directly on top but also on top of something with anintermediate feature(s) or a layer(s) therebetween.

FIG. 1A is a perspective view illustrating a semiconductor deviceaccording to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1B is aperspective view illustrating an enlarged region A of FIG. 1A.

As illustrated in FIG. 1A, a semiconductor device according to anembodiment may include stacked structures ST. Each of the stackedstructures ST may include a plurality of first conductive layers C1stacked in different planes and at least one second conductive layer C2formed over or under the first conductive layers C1. For example, thefirst conductive layers C1 may be gate electrodes of memory cells, andthe second conductive layer C2 may be a gate electrode of a selectiontransistor. Insulating layers 13 may be interposed between the first andsecond conductive layers C1 and C2. In addition, a sidewall of each ofthe stacked structures ST may be stepped.

First slits SL1 may be located between the stacked structures ST.Additionally, each of the stacked structures ST may further includesacrificial layers 11 in a central region separated from the first slitsSL1. The sacrificial layers 11 may be coupled to the first or secondconductive layers C1 and C2. The first and second conductive layers C1and C2 may be located on the sidewall of the stacked structure ST,exposed through the first slits SL1, i.e., in an edge region thereof,and the sacrificial layers 11 may be located in the central region ofthe stacked structure ST.

In addition, the semiconductor device may further include at least onesecond slit SL2 and channel layers CH passing through the stackedstructure ST. The first and second slits SL1 and SL2 may be filled withinsulating layers.

As illustrated in FIG. 1B, the first conductive layers C1 and the secondconductive layer C2 may have different structures. For example, each ofthe first conductive layers C1 may include a second barrier pattern 17,a sacrificial pattern (or a dummy pattern) 15, a first barrier pattern16 and a first conductive pattern 19. A seam S may be formed in thesacrificial pattern 15 of each of the first conductive layers C1. Inaddition, the second conductive layer C2 may include third barrierpatterns 14A and 14B and a second conductive pattern 18.

The second conductive layer C2 may have a greater thickness than thefirst conductive layers C1 (T1<T2). In addition, the second conductivelayer C2 may have a greater width than the first conductive layers C1(W1<W2). For example, a 3-1^(st) barrier pattern 14A may havesubstantially the same thickness as the second barrier pattern 17, a3-2^(nd) barrier pattern 14B may have substantially the same thicknessas the first barrier pattern 16, and the second conductive pattern 18may have a greater thickness than the first conductive pattern 19. Here,the phrase “substantially the same” includes a manufacturing errorrange.

According to the semiconductor device configured as described above, thefirst conductive layers C1 and the second conductive layer C2 may havedifferent structures. More specifically, since the first conductivelayers C1 and the second conductive layer C2 having differentthicknesses are formed by different structures, the first conductivepatterns 19 and the second conductive patterns 18 may be formed withoutvoids.

FIG. 1C is a cross-sectional view of a structure illustrating asemiconductor device according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

As illustrated in FIG. 1C, each memory cell MC may include the channellayer CH, a memory layer 1, the first conductive pattern 19, thesacrificial pattern 15, the first barrier pattern 16 and the secondbarrier pattern 17. The sacrificial pattern 15 and the first conductivepattern 19 may have a cylindrical structure surrounding a sidewall ofthe channel layer CH. The first conductive pattern 19 may surround thesacrificial pattern 15. That is, the sacrificial pattern 15 may belocated in the first conductive pattern 19. The first barrier pattern 16may surround the first conductive pattern 19 and be partially interposedbetween the first conductive pattern 19 and the sacrificial pattern 15.The second barrier pattern 17 may surround the sacrificial pattern 15and be partially interposed between the channel layer CH and thesacrificial pattern 15. For example, the second barrier pattern 17 mayextend to surround the first barrier pattern 16. The second barrierpattern 17 may surround the sacrificial pattern 15 and the first barrierpattern 16 corresponding thereto. In addition, the memory layer 1 may beinterposed between the channel layer CH and the second barrier pattern17. The channel layer CH may include an open central region, a centralregion completely filled, or a combination thereof. An insulating layer3 may be formed in the open central region of the channel layer CH.

A selection transistor STT may include the channel layer CH, the secondconductive pattern 18 and the third barrier pattern 14. The secondconductive pattern 18 may have a cylindrical structure surrounding thesidewall of the channel layer CH. The third barrier pattern 14 maysurround the second conductive pattern 18 and include a 3-1^(st) barrierlayer 14A and a 3-2^(nd) barrier layer 148. In addition, the selectiontransistor STT may further include a gate insulating layer interposedbetween the channel layer CH and the third barrier pattern 14. Forexample, the memory layer 1 may serve as the gate insulating layer ofthe selection transistor STT.

The semiconductor device configured as described above may include gateelectrodes of the selection transistor STT and the memory cell MC havingdifferent structures.

FIGS. 2A to 2H are cross-sectional views illustrating a method ofmanufacturing a semiconductor device according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

As illustrated in FIG. 2A, the stacked structure ST may be formed bystacking first material layers 21 and at least one second material layer22 and interposing third material layers 23 between the first and secondmaterial layers 21 and 22. For example, after the first material layers21 and the third material layers 23 are alternately formed, at least onesecond material layer 22 and at least one third material layer 23 may bealternately formed, so that the stacked structure ST may be formed. FIG.2A illustrates the second material layer 22 formed over the firstmaterial layers 21. However, in another example, the second materiallayer 22 may be formed under the first material layers 21.

The first and second material layers 21 and 22 may be stacked to formgate electrodes of a selection transistor, a memory cell and the like.For example, the first material layers 21 may be stacked to form gateelectrodes of memory cells, and the second material layer 22 may bestacked to form a gate electrode of a selection transistor. In addition,the third material layers 23 may be stacked to form insulating layersthat electrically insulate the stacked conductive layers from eachother.

The first material layers 21 and the second material layer 22 mayinclude the same or different materials. In addition, the first andsecond material layers 21 and 22 may include a material having a highetch selectivity with respect to the third material layers 23. Forexample, the first or second material layer 21 or 22 may include asacrificial layer including a nitride, and the third material layers 23may include an insulating layer including an oxide. In another example,the first or second material layers 21 or 22 may include a firstsacrificial layer including a nitride, and the third material layers 23may include a second sacrificial layer including an oxide.

The first material layer 21 and the second material layer 22 may havethe same thickness (T3=T4), or the second material layer 22 may have agreater thickness than the first material layer 21 (T3<T4). In addition,the third material layers 23 and the first material layers 21 may havethe same or different thicknesses.

Though not illustrated in FIG. 2A, openings may be formed through thestacked structure ST, and a memory layer and a channel layer may beformed in each of the openings. The memory layer may include at leastone of a charge blocking layer, a data storage layer and a tunnelinsulating layer. For example, the data storage layer may include atleast one of a charge trap layer, such as a nitride layer, a chargestoring layer, such as a polysilicon layer, nanodots, or a phase-changematerial layer. In addition, though not illustrated in FIG. 2A, at leastone sidewall of each of the stacked structures ST may be stepped.

As illustrated in FIG. 2B, a first slit SL1 may be formed through thefirst to third material layers 21 to 23. Subsequently, the first andsecond material layers 21 and 22 may be removed through the first slitSL1 to form the first and second openings OP1 and OP2. For example, thefirst openings OP1 may be formed by removing the first material layers21, and the second opening OP2 may be formed by removing the secondmaterial layer 22.

When the second material layer 22 has a greater thickness than the firstmaterial layer 21 (T3<T4), an exposed area of the second material layer22 may be greater than that of the first material layer 21. As a result,more of the second material layer 22 may be removed than the firstmaterial layer 21. Therefore, the second opening OP2 may have a greaterthickness than the first opening OP1 (T3<T4) or a greater depth than thefirst opening OP1 (D1<D2).

As illustrated in FIG. 2C, a first sacrificial layer 25 may be formed inthe first and second openings OP1 and OP2 (shown in FIG. 2B) through thefirst slit SL1. Before the first sacrificial layer 25 is formed, a firstbarrier layer 24 may be formed on surfaces of the first slit SL1, thefirst openings OP1 and the second opening OP2. The first sacrificiallayer 25 may include a polysilicon layer or an insulating layer. Thefirst barrier layer 24 may include a titanium layer (Ti), a titaniumnitride layer (TIN), tantalum (Ta) and a tantalum nitride layer (TaN).

For example, when the second material layer 22 has a greater thicknessthan the first material layer 21 (T3<T4), the first sacrificial layer 25may be formed so that a connecting portion between the second openingOP2 and the first slit SL1 may be opened (C) and a connecting portionbetween the first openings OP1 and the first slit SL1 may be sealed (B).The first sacrificial layer 25 may include or may not include seams Slocated in the first openings OP1. For example, the seams S, which areempty spaces, may be formed in the first sacrificial layer 25 if theconnection portion between the first openings OP1 and the first slit SL1is sealed before the first openings OP1 are completely filled when thefirst sacrificial layer 25 is formed in the first openings OP1.

As illustrated in FIG. 2D, the first sacrificial layer 25 may bepartially removed through the first slit SL1 to form first sacrificialpatterns 25A in the first openings OP1. For example, the firstsacrificial patterns 25A may be formed by completely removing the firstsacrificial layer 25 formed in the second opening OP2 and partiallyremoving the first sacrificial layer 25 formed in the first openingsOP1.

Since the connection portion between the second opening OP2 and thefirst slit SL1 is opened, an exposed area of the first sacrificial layer25 may be relatively large. Therefore, the first sacrificial layer 25may be completely removed from the second opening OP2. Alternatively,since the connecting portion between the first opening OP1 and the firstslit SL1 is sealed, the exposed area of the first sacrificial layer 25may be relatively small. Therefore, the first sacrificial layer 25 maybe partially removed, and the first sacrificial patterns 25A may remain.The first sacrificial layer 25 may be removed by using an ammonia basedcleaning process. For example, when a wet etch process is performedusing a diluted ammonia (DAM) solution, in which ammonia is dilutedbetween 50:1 and 10:1, at a temperature ranging from 50 to 100° C., itmay be easy to control the amount of the first sacrificial layer 25 tobe removed from the first openings OP1.

As illustrated in FIG. 2E, a seed layer 27 and a second sacrificiallayer 28 may be formed in the first slit SL1, the first openings OP1 andthe second opening OP2. For example, after the seed layer 27 is formedon inner surfaces of the first slit SL1, the first openings OP1 and thesecond opening OP2, the second sacrificial layer 28 may be formed tocompletely fill the first and second openings OP1 and OP2. The seedlayer 27 may include tungsten, and the second sacrificial layer 28 mayinclude a polysilicon layer or an insulating layer.

Before the second sacrificial layer 28 is formed, a second barrier layer26 may be formed on surfaces of the first slit SL1, the first openingsOP1 and the second opening OP2. The second barrier layer 26 may includetitanium (Ti), a titanium nitride layer (TiN), tantalum (Ta) and atantalum nitride layer (TaN).

As illustrated in FIG. 2F, the second sacrificial layer 28 may beremoved from the first slit SL1. As a result, second sacrificialpatterns 28A may be formed in the first and second openings OP1 and OP2,and the seed layer 27, formed in the first slit SL1, may be exposed.

Subsequently, the seed layer 27 may be removed from the first slit SL1.Since the seed layer 27, formed in the first and second openings OP1 andOP2, is protected by the second sacrificial patterns 28A, the seed layer27 may be selectively removed from the first slit SL1. As a result, seedpatterns 27A may be formed in the first and second openings OP1 and OP2.

When the first and second barrier layers 24 and 26 are formed, the firstand second barrier layers 24 and 26 may be removed from the first slitSL1. Since the first and second barrier layers 24 and 26 formed in thefirst and second openings OP1 and OP2 are protected by the secondsacrificial patterns 28A, the first and second barrier layers 24 and 26may be selectively removed from the first slit SL1. Therefore, first andsecond barrier patterns 24A and 26A may be formed in the first andsecond openings OP1 and OP2.

As illustrated in FIG. 2G, the second sacrificial patterns 28A may beremoved through the first slit SL1 to form third and fourth openings OP3and OP4. As a result, the seed patterns 27A may be exposed through thethird and fourth openings OP3 and OP4.

As illustrated in FIG. 2H, first and second conductive patterns 29 and30 may be formed in the third and fourth openings OP3 and OP4. Forexample, conductive layers may be grown from the seed patterns 27A byusing an epitaxial growth process, so that the first and secondconductive patterns 29 and 30 may be formed. As a result, the firstconductive layers C1 may include the first conductive patterns 29, andthe second conductive layer C2 may include the second conductive pattern30.

Though not illustrated in FIG. 2H, an insulating layer may be formed inthe first slit SL1. In addition, when the first material layers 21 arefirst sacrificial layers and the second material layer 22 is a secondsacrificial layer, openings may be formed by removing the secondmaterial layer 22, a memory layer exposed through the openings may beetched and patterned in units of memory cells, and insulating layers maybe formed in the openings.

According to the above-described processes, since the first and secondconductive patterns 29 and 30 are formed by growing conductive layersfrom the seed patterns 27A, the first and second conductive patterns 29and 30 may be formed in the third and fourth openings OP3 OP4 withoutseams.

Additionally, even when the seams S are formed in the first conductivepatterns 29, reaction gas used to form the sacrificial patterns 25A mayremain in the seams S. Unlike reaction gas used to form the first andsecond conductive patterns 29 and 30, the reaction gas used to form thesacrificial patterns 25A may not damage neighboring layers even when thereaction gas remains in the seams S. Therefore, deterioration ofcharacteristics of the semiconductor device caused by damage toneighboring layers may be prevented.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of a memorysystem according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, a memory system 1000 according to anembodiment of the present invention may include a memory device 1200 anda controller 1100.

The memory device 1200 may be used to store various data types such astext, graphic and software code. The memory device 1200 may be anon-volatile memory and include the memory string described above withreference to FIGS. 1A to 2H. In addition, the memory device 1200 mayinclude a plurality of first conductive patterns stacked over asubstrate, sacrificial patterns included in the first conductivepatterns, first barrier patterns surrounding the first conductivepatterns and partially interposed between the first conductive patternsand the sacrificial patterns; second barrier patterns surrounding thefirst barrier patterns and the sacrificial patterns correspondingthereto; at least one second conductive pattern located over or underthe first conductive patterns; and at least one third barrier patternsurrounding at least one second conductive pattern, in which the secondconductive pattern has a greater thickness than the first conductivepatterns. Since the memory device 1200 is formed and manufactured in theabove-described manner, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The controller 1100 may be coupled to a host and the memory device 1200,and may access the memory device 1200 in response to a request from thehost. For example, the controller 1100 may control read, write, eraseand background operations of the memory device 1200.

The controller 1100 may include a random access memory (RAM) 1110, acentral processing unit (CPU) 1120, a host interface 1130, an errorcorrection code (ECC) circuit 1140 and a memory interface 1150.

The RAM 1110 may function as an operation memory of the CPU 1120, acache memory between the memory device 1200 and the host, and a buffermemory between the memory device 1200 and the host. The RAM 1110 may bereplaced by a static random access memory (SRAM) or a read only memory(ROM).

The CPU 1120 may be suitable for controlling overall operations of thecontroller 1100. For example, the CPU 1120 may be suitable for operatingfirmware such as an FTL (Flash Translation Layer) stored in the RAM1110.

The host interface 1130 may interface with the host. For example, thecontroller 1100 may communicate with the host through one of variousinterface protocols including a Universal Serial Bus (USB) protocol, amultimedia card (MMC) protocol, a peripheral component interconnection(PCI) protocol, a PCI-express (PCI-E) protocol, an Advanced TechnologyAttachment (ATA) protocol, a Serial-ATA protocol, a Parallel-ATAprotocol, a small computer small interface (SCSI) protocol, an enhancedsmall disk interface (ESDI) protocol, an Integrated Drive Electronics(IDE) protocol and a private protocol.

The ECC circuit 1140 may detect and correct errors included in data readfrom the memory device 1200 by using error correction codes (ECCs).

The memory interface 1150 may interface with the memory device 1200. Forexample, the memory interface 1150 may include a NAND interface or a NORinterface.

Additionally, the controller 1100 may further include a buffer memory(not illustrated) configured to temporarily store data. The buffermemory may temporarily store data, externally transferred through thehost interface 1130, or temporarily store data transferred from thememory device 1200 through the memory interface 1150. In addition, thecontroller 1100 may further include ROM storing code data to interfacewith the host.

Since the memory system 1000 according to an embodiment of the presentinvention includes a memory device 1200 having an increased degree ofintegration, the degree of integration of the memory system 1000 mayalso be increased.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of a memorysystem according to an embodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter,a description of common contents with the earlier described embodimentis omitted.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, a memory system 1000′ according to anembodiment of the present invention may include a memory device 1200′and the controller 1100. In addition, the controller 1100 may includethe RAM 1110, the CPU 1120, the host interface 1130, the ECC circuit1140 and the memory interface 1150.

The memory device 1200′ may be a non-volatile memory device. The memorydevice 1200′ may be the semiconductor device described above withreference to FIGS. 1A to 2H. In addition, the memory device 1200′ mayinclude a first stacked structure including first conductive layers andfirst insulating layers formed alternately with each other, firstsemiconductor patterns passing through the first stacked structure, acoupling pattern coupled to the first semiconductor patterns, and a slitpassing through the first stacked structure and the coupling pattern.Since the memory device 1200′ is formed and manufactured in theabove-described manufacturing method, a detailed description thereofwill be omitted.

In addition, the memory device 1200′ may be a multi-chip packagecomposed of a plurality of memory chips. The plurality of memory chipsmay be divided into a plurality of groups. The plurality of groups maycommunicate with the controller 1100 through first to k-th channels CH1to CHk. In addition, memory chips included in a single group may besuitable for communicating with the controller 1100 through a commonchannel. The memory system 1000′ may be modified so that a single memorychip may be coupled to a single channel.

As described above, according to an embodiment of the present invention,since the memory system 1000′ includes the memory device 1200′ havingimproved characteristics of, for example, a cell current,characteristics of the memory system 1000′ may also be improved. Inaddition, data storage capacity and driving speed of the memory system1000′ may be further increased by forming the memory device 1200′ usinga multi-chip package.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of a computingsystem according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Afurther description of contents in common with the earlier describedembodiments is omitted.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, a computing system 2000 according to anembodiment of the present invention may include a memory device 2100, aCPU 2200, a random-access memory (RAM) 2300, a user interface 2400, apower supply 2500 and a system bus 2600.

The memory device 2100 may store data, which is input through the userinterface 2400, and data which is processed by the CPU 2200. Inaddition, the memory device 2100 may be electrically coupled to the CPU2200, the RAM 2300, the user interface 2400 and the power supply 2500.For example, the memory device 2100 may be coupled to the system bus2600 through a controller (not illustrated) or be directly coupled tothe system bus 2600. When the memory device 2100 is directly coupled tothe system bus 2600, functions of the controller may be performed by theCPU 2200 and the RAM 2300.

The memory device 2100 may be non-volatile memory. In addition, thememory device 2100 may be the semiconductor memory device describedabove with reference to FIGS. 1A to 2H. The memory device 2100 mayinclude a plurality of first conductive patterns stacked over asubstrate, sacrificial patterns included in the first conductivepatterns, first barrier patterns surrounding the first conductivepatterns and partially interposed between the first conductive patternsand the sacrificial patterns; second barrier patterns surrounding thefirst barrier patterns and the sacrificial patterns correspondingthereto; at least one second conductive pattern located over or underthe first conductive patterns; and at least one third barrier patternsurrounding at least one second conductive pattern, in which the secondconductive pattern has a greater thickness than the first conductivepatterns. Since the memory device 2100 is formed and manufactured in theabove-described manner, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In addition, as described above with reference to FIG. 4, the memorydevice 2100 may be a multi-chip package composed of a plurality ofmemory chips.

The computing system 2000 having the above-described configuration maybe one of various components of an electronic device, such as acomputer, an ultra mobile PC (UMPC), a workstation, a net-book, personaldigital assistants (PDAs), a portable computer, a web tablet, a wirelessphone, a mobile phone, a smart phone, an e-book, a portable multimediaplayer (PMP), a portable game machine, a navigation device, a black box,a digital camera, a three-dimensional (3D) television, a digital audiorecorder, a digital audio player, a digital picture recorder, a digitalpicture player, a digital video recorder, a digital video player, adevice for transmitting/receiving information in wireless environment,one of various electronic devices for home network, one of variouselectronic devices for computer network, one of various electronicdevices for telematics network, an RFID device, and/or one of variousdevices for computing systems, etc.

As described above, since the computing system 2000 according to anembodiment of the present invention includes a memory device 2100 havingan increased degree of integration, the degree of integration of thecomputing system 2000 may be increased accordingly.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a computing system according to anembodiment of the present invention.

As illustrated in FIG. 6, a computing system 3000 according to anembodiment of the present invention may include a software layer thathas an operating system 3200, an application 3100, a file system 3300and a translation layer 3400. In addition, the computing system 3000 mayinclude a hardware layer such as a memory system 3500.

The operating system 3200 manages software and hardware resources of thecomputing system 3000. The operating system 3200 may control programexecution of a central processing unit. The application 3100 may includevarious application programs executed by the computing system 3000. Theapplication 3100 may be a utility executed by the operating system 3200.

The file system 3300 may refer to a logical structure configured tomanage data and files present in the computing system 3000. The filesystem 3300 may organize files or data to be stored in the memory device3500 according to rules. The file system 3300 may be determineddepending on the operating system 3200 that is used in the computingsystem 3000. For example, when the operating system 3200 is a MicrosoftWindows-based system, the file system 3300 may be a file allocationtable (FAT) or an NT file system (NTFS). In addition, when the operatingsystem 3200 is a Unix/Linux-based system, the file system 3300 may be anextended file system (EXT), a Unix file system (UFS) or a journalingfile system (JFS).

FIG. 6 illustrates the operating system 3200, the application 3100, andthe file system 3300 in separate blocks. However, the application 3100and the file system 3300 may be included in the operating system 3200.

The translation layer 3400 may translate an address to be suitable forthe memory device 3500 in response to a request from the file system3300. For example, the translation layer 3400 may translate a logicaddress, generated by the file system 3300, into a physical address ofthe memory device 3500. Mapping information of the logic address and thephysical address may be stored in an address translation table. Forexample, the translation layer 3400 may be a flash translation layer(FTL), a universal flash storage link layer (ULL) or the like.

The memory device 3500 may be a non-volatile memory. The memory device3500 may be the semiconductor memory device described above withreference to FIGS. 1A to 2H. In addition, the memory device 3500 mayinclude a plurality of first conductive patterns stacked over asubstrate, sacrificial patterns included in the first conductivepatterns, first barrier patterns surrounding the first conductivepatterns and partially interposed between the first conductive patternsand the sacrificial patterns; second barrier patterns surrounding thefirst barrier patterns and the sacrificial patterns correspondingthereto; at least one second conductive pattern located over or underthe first conductive patterns; and at least one third barrier patternsurrounding at least one second conductive pattern, in which the secondconductive pattern has a greater thickness than the first conductivepatterns. Since the memory device 3500 is formed and manufactured in theabove-described manner, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The computing system 3000 having the above-described configuration maybe divided into an operating system layer that is operated in an upperlayer region and a controller layer that is operated in a lower levelregion. The application 3100, the operating system 3200, and the filesystem 3300 may be included in the operating system layer and driven byan operation memory. In addition, the translation layer 3400 may beincluded in the operating system layer or the controller layer.

As described above, since the computing system 3000 according to anembodiment of the present invention includes the memory device 3500having an increased degree of integration, data storage capacity of thecomputing system 3000 may be improved.

According to the embodiments of the present invention, it may be easierto form a stacked structure in which conductive layers having differentstructures are stacked. In addition, the stacked conductive layers maybe easily separated, and neighboring layers may be prevented from beingdamaged.

As described above, the examplary embodiments have been disclosed in thedrawings and the specification. The specific terms used herein are forpurposes of illustration and do not limit the scope of the presentinvention defined in the claims. Those skilled in the art willappreciate that various modifications and other equivalent examples maybe made without departing from the scope and spirit of the presentdisclosure. Therefore, the sole scope of technical protection of thepresent invention will be defined by the spirit of the accompanyingclaims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device,the method comprising: forming a stacked structure including firstmaterial layers, at least one second material layer located over orunder the first material layers, and third material layers interposedbetween the first and second material layers; forming a slit passingthrough the stacked structure; forming first and second openings byremoving the first and second material layers through the slit; formingfirst sacrificial patterns in the first openings; and forming conductivelayers in the first openings in which the first sacrificial patterns areformed, and in the second opening, wherein the second material layer hasa greater thickness than the first material layers.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the second opening has a greater depth than the firstopenings.
 3. The method of claim 1, further comprising forming a firstbarrier layer on entire surfaces of the first and second openings beforethe forming of the first sacrificial patterns.
 4. The method of claim 1,wherein the forming of the first sacrificial patterns comprises: forminga first sacrificial layer in the first and second openings through theslit; and forming the first sacrificial patterns by partially removingthe first sacrificial layer through the slit.
 5. The method of claim 4,wherein the forming of the first sacrificial layer comprises forming thefirst sacrificial layer so that a connecting portion between the secondopening and the slit is opened and a connection portion between thefirst openings and the slit is sealed.
 6. The method of claim 5, whereinthe first sacrificial layer includes seams located in the firstopenings.
 7. The method of claim 4, wherein the first sacrificial layerincludes polysilicon, and a portion of the first sacrificial layer isremoved by a cleaning process using ammonia.
 8. The method of claim 4,wherein the forming of the first sacrificial patterns comprisescompletely removing the first sacrificial layer formed in the secondopening and partially removing the first sacrificial layer formed in thefirst openings.
 9. The method of claim 1, further comprising: forming aseed layer in the slit, the first openings and the second opening beforethe forming of the conductive layers; forming second sacrificialpatterns in the first openings and the second opening in which the seedlayer is formed; forming seed patterns in the first and second openingsby removing the seed layer formed in the slit; and removing the secondsacrificial patterns formed in the first and second openings.
 10. Themethod of claim 9, further comprising forming a second barrier layer oninner surfaces of the slit, the first openings and the second openingbefore the forming of the seed layer.
 11. The method of claim 9, whereinthe forming of the conductive layers comprises growing the conductivelayers from the seed patterns.